The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hello,
Can anyone tell me if this Columbia Portable has the correct reproducer?
thanks
Pete

This appears to be a generic 20's - 30's portable with a Columbia decal on it - and in my opinion it should not be there.

Considering it as a generic portable, the reproducer is fine. It might have been fitted by the maker or could be an early replacement. The general rule with machines like this is "If it fits, it's fine"

I agree that this does not look like any Columbia portable, American or British, that I have ever seen. It resembles an American PAL portable which I once owned, cheaply made but an unusual find over here.

A close-up picture of the Columbia logo inside the lid might tell us more.

Here is a close up of the logo.

The logo does look genuine. My guess is that, like Victor, Columbia outsourced the production of its late portables to someone like Prime Mfg.